Audrey Hepburn, Brad Johnson, Dale Dye

A romantic adventure about a legendary pilot's passion for dare-devil firefighting and his girl.

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60% liked it

5,985 ratings

PG, 2 hrs. 2 min.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Release Date: December 22, 1989

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DVD Release Date: July 20, 1999

Stats: 730 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (730)


  • May 3, 2008
    "He's too beautiful. He's too much twisted steel and sex appeal. I can't be with a guy that looks like I won him in a raffle."



    Always is yet another very good effort from legendary director Steven Spielberg; but unfortunately this film is not one of h...( read more)is best efforts. I am glad to report that the film boasts all the qualities we expect in a Spielberg film like this: it's for the family and contains good production values. But behind all this there are several flaws that unashamedly emerge.



    A daredevil pilot named Pete Sandich (Dreyfuss) is the best at what he does; flying an aircraft that is used for putting out forest fires by dousing the flames with water. He finds true love in a girl named Dorinda (Hunter) who wishes for Pete to give up his job due to the danger involved. During a daring mission Pete saves his best friend Al (Goodman), but as a result Pete is in fact killed. Despite being killed in the horrible accident, Pete soon comes back in the form of a ghost. After the initial shock of dying Pete decides to give all his knowledge and experience to a promising young pilot. Now that Pete is dead he needs someone as skilled as him to continue saving lives.



    Always is a film that certainly contains an interesting concept; and it goes without saying that nobody could've done better than Spielberg. However, the film's ultimate flaw was that it had a tendency to be far too cute and "feel good". That being said, it's a bit of a tear jerker at times and has been produced by a man who is a master at his craft.



    Richard Dreyfuss has been in several Spielberg productions before this film. And although Always is no Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind I felt that Dreyfuss was determined and gave the film everything he could. He was highly engaging and carried the film with great skill.



    Steven Spielberg will always be one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema and his directing is first-rate. I never would have expected a talented director like Spielberg to be involved in such a film. I am happy that he was able to bring some appeal to a highly flawed screenplay.



    Always is a pleasant emotional journey that is a respectful homage to the men who risk their lives everyday to put out forest fires.



    I found the film to be both impressive and disappointing. On the one hand I can't fault the filmmaking. But on the other hand its major flaw was being too long as well as being far too cute. If you're looking for a pleasant evening to spend with the family I believe that Always would be a good choice to rent.
  • April 9, 2008
    Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss and John Goodman are all great. I laughed and cried through the whole movie.
  • February 10, 2008
    This movie has a similar theme as "Ghost' only not as dynamic. Still, hubby and I enjoyed this movie because it was about airplane pilots that put out forest fires.
  • November 23, 2007
    sad but very good
  • October 28, 2007
    Incredibly sad yet incredibly sweet. Love Holly and Richard's chemistry.
  • November 8, 2009
    Not great, but you should watch it for Audrey Hepburn's final performance.
  • November 6, 2009
    One of my favorites. Richard Dreyfuss at his personal best. Highly recommended.
  • October 23, 2009
    A nice enough film with some good set pieces but I cant help but feel as though this is a poor version of Ghost. It pains me to say but this is not one of Spielberg's best films. It has plenty of heart but not enough soul. The cast do a fine job of things especially Hunter who is...( read more) fantastic. So much more could have been done with this picture.
  • September 16, 2009
    This is the all time.......guy and chick flick !
  • August 8, 2009
    hmm..gosh been so long cant remember..hmm..so I will say..must see again

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  • MrsJackHarkenss
    June 4, 2007
    This is a very good movie. My mother and I both love it very much and it sort of hits home because both of my parents are firefighters. It just makes you think and I would love to be a fire bomber.

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